ILRI Director General Jimmy Smith and Bishnupada Sethi, Odisha’s Secretary of Fisheries and Animal Resources Development (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan).
The government of the state of Odisha, in eastern India, and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) will work together to provide improved feed and fodder to livestock in the state (formerly known as Orissa) in a new three-year project.
A total of 45 fodder coop societies will be formed and 120 progressive farmers will be supported to develop fodder nurseries.
‘Nearly 50,000 farmers will benefit through training, trials, demonstrations, fodder cultivation and other activities. The Department of Animal Nutrition, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry and ILRI will undertake the study analysis and estimation of the nutritional value of different varieties of fodder crops available in Odisha.’
Visiting Odisha earlier this year, Jimmy Smith, director general ILRI, met with Chief Secretary A P Padhi and Secretary of the Fisheries and Animal Resources Development (F &ARD) Department Bishnupada Sethi.
They discussed issues confronting Odisha’s livestock keepers and the contributions ILRI could make to help the state help farmers dependent on livestock to improve their livelihoods.
ILRI will collaborate with the Directorate of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services (DAH&VS), Department of F&ARD, on this project, which is titled ‘Feed and Fodder Production in Different Agro-climatic Zones and Utilization for Livestock of Odisha’.
Part of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future, ILRI works to improve the lives of poor and marginalized farmers by enhancing livestock production in developing countries.
‘ILRI has been working in Odisha since 2013 in collaboration with Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), OMFED [Orissa State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited] and DAH&VS, F&ARD and the Government of Odisha to improve livestock productivity through better utilization of crop residues and supplementation of [livestock feed] mineral mixture within the framework of the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA). . . .
Global expertise in feed and fodder development of ILRI will be utilized . . . .
ILRI has worked with the Government of Andhra Pradesh for the last 15 years to improve and disseminate dual-purpose crops whose stalks and other residues feed livestock while the grain feeds people.
Read the whole article at Tathya; ILRI to pact with Odisha, 31 Oct 2016.
Read about ILRI’s past work in Odisha in a blog series:
‘Curds and goats, lives and livelihoods—A dozen stories from northern and eastern India’
Part 5: Wonder women of Bhubaneswar, 12 Apr 2016.
Part 6: Odisha Odyssey: The Arcadian landscapes and tribal goat keepers of Mayurbhanj, 9 May 2016.
Part 7: Odisha Odyssey: A look at the emerging commercial dairy value chains in eastern India, 12 May 2016
‘Curds and goats, lives and livelihoods—A dozen stories from northern and eastern India’
Part 5: Wonder women of Bhubaneswar, 12 Apr 2016.
Part 6: Odisha Odyssey: The Arcadian landscapes and tribal goat keepers of Mayurbhanj, 9 May 2016.
Part 7: Odisha Odyssey: A look at the emerging commercial dairy value chains in eastern India, 12 May 2016
ILRI Clippings 